EEF calls for urgent government action to help get UK manufacturing productivity back on track

The manufacturers’ organisation, EEF, has called for urgent action by the government to be made in implementing the industrial strategy after its new research has demonstrated the true extent of the productivity problem in Britain’s manufacturing sector.

Call to action

Calls for an Industrial Strategy Council to be created immediately and given the task of setting clear goals that will focus on solutions to boost manufacturing productivity growth have been made by EEF.

Key findings from the research include:

UK manufacturing productivity grew by 4.7% between 2000 and 2007, since 2008 this has flat lined at less than 1% a year

Prior to the 2008 financial crisis all sectors of manufacturing contributed to productivity growth, however since then there has been significant divergence across sectors

Pharmaceuticals growth ran in line with international growth but went sharply into reverse after 2008

“We’ve known about the productivity problem for some time with various attempts made to try and fix it across the whole economy. Productivity growth matters for wages and international competitiveness yet 10 years on from the start of the financial crisis these attempts have not delivered a major shift and we need to tackle the challenge in a different way,” explained Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF. “Manufacturing offers a good area to get gains on productivity growth. The Industrial Strategy Council should now be created urgently and put to task to identify how the overall strategy can improve productivity in those industrial sectors where it has lagged.”

According to the report, Unpacking the Puzzle, there is not one factor that can completely explain the productivity performance of all manufacturing sub-sectors, so a targeted solution is needed. EEF’s initial assessment of what is needed has identified the following:

Size matters, with larger companies being able to exploit economies of scale, vertical integration opportunities and with it, higher levels of productivity. Our analysis shows sectors with a higher share of larger firms tend to outperform internationally.

Boosting capital investment is not a silver bullet solution, for some sectors significantly investing more may not bear fruit. As an example, despite Italy having higher levels of investment in capital equipment compared to Germany, productivity levels in Italy are weaker.

More UK manufacturing sectors undertake ancillary services as part of business operations compared to international counterparts. This suggests UK manufacturers are more likely to be at the end of value chains where the opportunities for productivity growth may be lower, but profits higher.

Lastly, management practices across UK manufacturing do not reflect international best practice with a long-tail of companies with poor management practices. Evidence suggests companies with better management capabilities are more likely to have higher rates of productivity growth.

Alongside the Industrial Strategy Council finally being set up, EEF is calling for four specific additional measures as part of the industrial strategy to be delivered before the parliamentary summer recess.

In response to growing frustration, provide clarity on the purpose of sector deals and better project management of those in train. This should include kick starting the promised Made Smarter Commission.

Effective Local Industrial Strategies require the foundation of formal governance arrangements. We need a devolution framework setting out what is on offer, and what governance is needed to unlock it.

The White Paper committed to a new strategy for export promotion and business responded to the call for evidence. Details of this new strategy should be published ahead of recess.

The Spring statement announced an upcoming call for evidence on the UK’s long tail of less productive firms. Industry wants to see a post-purdah push on where government action is needed.

EEF intends to use the research as a starting point for in-depth analysis of manufacturing sector productivity over the summer before producing an extensive report in the autumn and will be hosting a webinar on Thursday (10 May) to start the process.